The present invention drastically reduces the amount of time needed to install a so-called “flushmount” light fixture to a junction box, as compared to the conventional method (e.g., as contained in mounting instructions for flushmount light fixtures manufactured by HAMPTON BAY). The present invention should apply as well when installing flushmount light fixtures of similar design that are made by other manufacturers, such as COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC, PROGRESS LIGHTING, DESIGNERS FOUNTAIN, WESTINGHOUSE, and others). A flushmount light fixture is defined herein as a light fixture which, when mounted, a base portion of the light fixture contacts or is immediately adjacent the surface to which the light fixture is mounted. Most often, these light fixtures are mounted so that a base portion of the light fixture contacts the ceiling.
Typically, installation hardware as well as installation instructions are supplied in the shipping box of the light fixture. Often the installation hardware includes a mounting bracket for attachment to a junction box, two pairs of machine screws, and electrical connectors. The installation instructions describe a conventional method of installing a light fixture in which the installer is directed to screw, into threaded holes in the mounting bracket, mounting screws that later will be used to secure the base of the light fixture against or immediately adjacent the ceiling. These mounting screws are typically longer than the other pair of machine screws that are intended for use in attaching the mounting bracket to the junction box. It is not critical whether the mounting screws are installed into the mounting bracket before or after the mounting bracket is secured to the junction box. Once those two steps are completed, the mounting screws extend downward from the mounting bracket, with their heads lower-most. Next in the conventional method, a grounding wire of the light fixture base is attached to a grounding screw on the bracket, and the light fixture base is temporarily supported by that grounding wire so as to allow the installer to use both hands when making electrical connections. After the electrical connections have been made (that connect wires in the junction box to wires in the light fixture), the next conventional step is to raise the light fixture until the heads of the mounting screws pass through holes in the base of the light fixture.
In addition to the two mounting holes in the light fixture base, each of these mounting holes has a mounting slot contiguous thereto of a width smaller than the diameter of the mounting holes in the base. The width of the mounting slots is slightly larger than the width of the shaft portion of the mounting screws, but smaller than that of the heads of the mounting screws, and the diameter of each mounting hole is slightly larger than the heads of the mounting screws. After the heads of the mounting screws have passed through the mounting holes as a result of the installer raising the base, conventional installation instructions direct that the base be moved (e.g., by rotation or sliding) so that the mounting screws engage the slots. The mounting instructions then direct that the mounting screws be tightened.
There are several problems with the above-discussed, conventional method(s) of mounting a light fixture.
A first problem is flushmount light fixtures usually have thermal insulation installed in the base of the light fixture. This insulation lies above the portion of the base having the mounting holes and slots. Most often, the base is made of sheet metal, and the insulation serves to protect the ceiling from the heat of the light bulbs that are to be installed in the light fixture below the base. Unfortunately during installation of the base, when viewing is attempted from above the base, this insulation blocks the view of the installer from being able to see the mounting holes—thus making it extremely difficult to (essentially blindly) align the mounting holes of the light fixture with the heads of the mounting screws when raising the base. And, when the installer attempts to view from below the base, the insulation in the base makes it very difficult to see the heads of the mounting screws that are mounted to the support bracket. Thus, the installer must use trail-and-error while blindly attempting to raise the base so that the heads of the mounting screws pass through the mounting holes of the base. Moreover, when raising the base, the thermal insulation that is contacted by the heads of the mounting screws tends to be sheared-off. This material, which is irritating to the skin and eyes of an installer, often falls onto the face of an installer attempting to peer through one or more of these mounting holes in the base (and the inch or more of insulation) so as to align the mounting hole(s) with the head(s) of the mounting screw(s). If this insulation is removed from the base, the light fixture no longer complies with the electric code and the risk of fire is increased.
A second problem is raising the base as per the conventional installation method(s) may never achieve the desired result of passing the heads of both mounting screws simultaneously through their respective mounting holes in the base. Due to manufacturing tolerances, it is often the case that the two mounting screws when threaded into the mounting bracket are not in parallel alignment. When this occurs, despite the number of times the base is raised, both mounting screw heads will not simultaneously align with the mounting holes in the base until a lateral force has been applied to at least one of the two mounting screws installed in the mounting bracket. As mentioned above, because the installer is operating in an essentially blind manner, the direction in which a lateral force should be applied is unknown to the installer.
A third problem is the thermal insulation is often thicker than the base. Thus, when the base is raised to the point that a head of a mounting screw passes through a mounting hole, the insulation in the base contacts the ceiling and exerts a small bias force in the downward direction on the base. This bias makes it difficult to maintain the head of a first mounting screw in the state of being passed-through its mounting hole while working to get the head of the second mounting screw passed-through its mounting hole. Thus, once the installer blindly succeeds in getting a first mounting screw head through a mounting screw hole in the base, he must then blindly get the second mounting screw through a different mounting hole in the base. While attempting this, the installer must continuously keep the base pressed upward against the ceiling. Otherwise, because the base is biased downward by the insulation as well as gravity, the first mounting screw easily passes back through its mounting hole (i.e., upward relative to the base) and disappears from view. After this occurs once or twice, the installer is motivated to deviate from the mounting instructions supplied with the light fixture and secure the first mounting screw into its respective mounting slot, and then to tighten the mounting screw somewhat so as to hold it in place. However, moving the base so that the shaft of the first mounting screw engages its respective slot generally misaligns the base from from having the second mounting screw be in alignment with the second mounting hole of the base. In this situation, it becomes necessary to apply a lateral force to the second installation screw so as to achieve alignment of its head with that of the second mounting hole in the base. However, because it is very difficult for the installer to simultaneously view both the mounting screw head and the mounting hole in the base when raising the base (as discussed above), the direction this lateral force must be applied for alignment is very difficult for the installer to determine.
A fourth problem is the act of tightening a first mounting screw head against a slot in the base causes the material of the base, which often is either sheet metal or molded plastic, to deflect somewhat from being planar in the region near the head of the mounting screw. This deflection often results in a force component developing on the base that causes the base to move. More specifically, as the mounting screw is tightened against the slot, a force component often develops that causes the mounting screw to move along the slot in the direction of the mounting hole. Thus, before tightening the head of the mounting screw against the slot, it is prudent for the installer to block the mounting hole so as to prevent the mounting screw from re-entering that space and disappearing from view.